


The Gift

by egosoffire



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Alternate universe slavery, Everybody Lives, Multi, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 20:27:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 13,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8071612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egosoffire/pseuds/egosoffire
Summary: Frank and Maria Castle are given a slave as a wedding present.





	1. Chapter 1

**Frank - An Unwanted Wedding Gift**

"You bought us a slave..."  
  
Twenty-one year old newlywed Frank Castle wasn't sure how to express his distress. His wife's aunt, bless her, was a very old-fashioned woman. She had very firm ideas about the way life should be, and often Frank and Maria ignored her. She was just a product of her time, and she had a good heart, according to her niece. Yet, neither could do anything but stare when she handed them ownership papers at their wedding reception.   
  
"Yes, I did," Aunt Guadalupe said, a grin crossing her withered face. She was much older than Maria's mother and it showed, but her eyes were wide, almost childishly excited. "He's blind, but don't let that make you think I got you a defective one. He's incredibly skilled - both at his domestic duties and his bedroom ones, if you get me."   
  
Maria covered her face.   
  
"Oh, don't be shy," Guadalupe laughed. "I'll have him sent to you after your honeymoon. By then, you'll have a little more experience in that area yourself, 'ria."   
  
After she left them, Maria turned to Frank with wide eyes. He brushed a few strands of blonde hair out of her face. She had changed out of her elaborate ceremony ballgown to a more casual white dress, but she still looked like nothing short of a goddess. He loved her more every single day that they were together.   
  
"She bought us a _slave,_ Frank," Maria said, emphasizing the word slave. "I'm not okay with slavery at all. Are you?"   
  
"No, of course I'm not," Frank replied. He had always been very adamantly against the institution itself. It was absurd to think that anyone deserved slavery, especially when slaves were often orphans, former non-violent criminals or those without family ties. "I'm not, but...what can we do?"  
  
"Should we take him back?" Maria asked delicately.  
  
"Let's worry about that later," Frank said, leaning over and kissing her. Maria kissed back, but he could sense the hesitance in her kiss. He knew that she was thinking very deeply about things. "It's our wedding reception, Maria. I still want you to have a good night."   
  
Maria smiled, and Frank knew that it would be okay.

The honeymoon was beautiful, relaxing and one of the best weeks of Frank's entire life. Things had been hard since he returned from his first overseas deployment, and sometimes he just felt so much older than his young twenty-one years. Spending a week in paradise with his new wife had been enough to make him feel free again.   
  
The sex was also phenomenal. He and Maria had been each other's firsts, several years before the wedding day, but now they had experience and the added excitement of being newlyweds. Frank spent much of the week in the bliss that was holding Maria close, basking in the afterglow.  
  
After the honeymoon, Maria and Frank had things to deal with.  
  
The slave was brought to their door on their first day in their new home. It was a small apartment, but enough for a young newlywed couple. There were still boxes to unpack, things to put together, and a knock at the door signaled the arrival of their new slave.  
  
"Oh my god," Maria groaned.   
  
"Don't worry, Maria."   
  
Frank went to the door, sparing his wife the awkwardness. He answered it to find that there was a man in a blue suit, holding a clipboard. Next to him stood a blind young man, probably at least a couple years younger than Frank. He had his hands clasped behind his back and a generic black collar around his neck.   
  
"Are you Mr. Frank Castle?" the man asked.   
  
"I am."  
  
"Sign here."  
  
He thrust his clipboard at Frank. Frank scanned the document. It was a receipt of slave transfer. By signing it, he was acknowledging that the slave (name: MURDOCK, MATTHEW, age: 19) was in his possession and the property of Frank and Maria Castle.  
  
"There's a log book of his training history," the man said, handing Frank a large envelope. "Have a nice day."  
  
That was it. With so few words, a human life had been transferred to two barely-adults who had no idea what they were doing.  
  
Maria poked her head out from behind Frank. He watched his wife's eyes widen considerably.   
  
"Hello," she said softly.   
  
"His name's Matthew," Frank managed.  
  
"Hello Matthew," Maria said softly. She took a step forward. "I'm Maria and this is my husband, Frank. We're very pleased to meet you."  
  
"It's nice to meet you, miss."

Matt had been the Castles' slave for two weeks when Frank first heard Maria and Matt have a real conversation. Frank didn't know much about Matt yet, but he knew for a fact that Matt was a good, honest person. He was also extremely eager to help. Frank and Maria weren't really comforting at all with giving orders, but Matt was more than happy to help and they found a bit of a routine. Matt occupied himself with housework for the most part, and Frank was busy with work. Maria was still finishing school, so that allowe her a bit more time to be at home.  
  
So, Matt and Maria were talking...  
  
"Where do you come from Matt?" Maria asked, her voice gentle and sweet. She looked at Matt and smiled.  
  
Matt, in spite of his disability, kept his gaze on Maria.   
  
"I'm from the city myself, Miss. I grew up in Hell's Kitchen."  
  
"Oh," Maria said with a surprised nod. "Your...family was from there too?"   
  
Frank winced the tiniest bit at her words. Maria was a smart, beautiful, intelligent woman, but this was an awkward situation.   
  
Matt seemed to understand the discomfort Maria had caused herself.  
  
"My father and I lived there, yes," he said gently. "It's okay, Miss. He was killed when I was young."   
  
"I'm very sorry, Matthew."   
  
"It's okay, Miss."  
  
"Were you an only child?" Maria asked tenderly.   
  
She leaned over and touched Matt's cheek. It was a tender, sweet gesture and it would have made Frank jealous if it didn't feel right. Maria was an angel and if she could extend that to their slave, well, then it was a good thing.  
  
"Yes, miss."  
  
"I have sisters," Maria said, chuckling fondly. "Both older than me. Frank's an only child too."  
  
Neither spoke for awhile. Then Maria piped up again.  
  
"Do you like pie, Matt?"   
  
"Yes, Miss."  
  
Frank caught Maria's smile out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"Perfect," she said. "Let's have some of my mama's apple pie and we can get to know each other more."  
  
Frank stepped back as Maria crossed the kitchen. They'd be okay, even if this situation was rough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Maria/Matt  - The Discussion of Sex**

Despite the fact that she and Frank had been one hundred percent against the idea of owning a slave, Matt quickly became a part of their day to day lives. Yes, there were mild issues with his subservient role that bothered Maria and her husband both, but Matt helped with the cooking and cleaning and slowly, Maria could see him becoming comfortable.  
  
Matt had been theirs for several months when the topic of sex came up. After dinner, Matt cleared the plates. Maria handed him hers, noticing a considerable blush - a redness across his pale cheeks.  
  
"What is it, Matthew?" she asked with a grin. "You're cherry red."   
  
"Oh..." Matt said, looking down. "Am I?"   
  
"C'mon," Frank teased, stepping over to grab the plate from Matt. He stuck it in the sink. "I know you can't see it, but you gotta feel super hot right now."   
  
"A little, sir," Matt murmured. "I was just wondering about something. I'm not sure if I can say, though."   
  
"You can..."   
  
"Well, I'm trained both as a domestic slave and a bedroom slave," Matt managed, saying the words so quickly, without pause, that Frank had to blink and think a second before he processed them. "I was just wondering if you had any intention of utilizing my services in that area..."   
  
Frank nearly choked and Maria started to laugh nervously almost right away.   
  
"Oh..." Maria murmured. "I didn't think about it like that, Matt. This must be kind of confusing for you."   
  
"Er, yes, it is Miss."   
  
"The truth is," Maria admitted, "that Frank and I never wanted a slave in the first place."   
  
Matt's expression darkened.  
  
"Oh not like that," Frank said. "Neither of us really believes in slavery, you know? We think that it's pretty screwed up that someone can be property and we still don't...love it, at all. So we never prepared to have a slave, then her aunt gave you to us for a wedding gift."   
  
"I see," Matt said awkwardly.   
  
He shifted a little and Frank could tell that he was really nervous. All he wanted to do when he saw that was hug the younger man, but that seemed a tad weird, even in their situation.   
  
"Did they tell you that we'd want you for such a thing?" Maria asked Matt, gently. She was always so gentle and Frank was so in love with his wife. She reached out and touched Matt's face. Matt was obviously immediately drawn to her and he cared for her so much. Frank was glad for that. "I mean...did they tell you anything about us?"   
  
"They just told me that you were a very young married couple, Miss," Matt murmured, looking down at the table between them. "They told me that you might not want me that way for awhile, because you were still in the honeymoon phase..."   
  
"Oh..." Maria murmured. "Oh Matt."   
  
"Is that something you want, Matt?" Frank asked, piping up without really thinking about it. "Because I want to hear what you want now, okay? You get to tell us."

Matt paused, stunned at what he was being asked. The young slave had some particular abilities that allowed him to know that his Master, Frank, was being incredibly honest when he asked him what he wanted. To Matt, that was an unknown feeling, a confusing sensation indeed. He was being told that it was okay to have wants, to have desires.   
  
"Frank!" scolded Maria. "Don't be rude. You've freaked him out."   
  
Matt was very good at reading people, and he had already discovered that his Mistress was a wonderful, kind lady. He truly believed that her husband was the same, but Frank was a bit harder to read. Matt assumed that came from his military service. He came off as a lot older than he was, but that was probably because he'd seen difficult things.  
  
"I'm okay," Matt whispered. He wanted them to know that he was okay, even though he was not entirely sure yet that they cared about him. They seemed like they did, and they both said that they didn't believe in slavery and stuff. Still, it seemed hard to believe that they actually cared about him. "Please, sir, it didn't freak me out. I'm just not used to being asked things like that."   
  
"Don't be afraid to tell us what you want," Frank said instantly. Matt sensed that he stood up. "About stuff like this, or about anything. Like the draft in your room..."   
  
Matt cocked his head, surprised. Yes, his bedroom was cold, small and had a draft that ran from a crack in the windowsill. He had, of course, not told Maria nor Frank about it. He was a young slave and had never been privately owned before them, but he had experienced what it was like to be a slave who complained. It was not his place to complain.   
  
"I fixed that, by the way," Frank said with a slight smile. Matt couldn't see it, of course, but he knew from his instincts that Frank was smiling. He imagined it to be a very restrained smile. "It took me forever, because I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but I did it."   
  
"Thank you, sir."   
  
"What I think Frank's trying to say is that your wants are going to be taken into account too," Maria said, her hand on Matt's shoulder. "You may have been thrown into our family, but that doesn't mean you're not part of it. Got it?"   
  
"Got it."   
  
Matt realized then, of course, that he wanted them both. He was very attracted to Frank and Maria.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Rating - NC-17  
> Skip if you'd like to avoid the smutty parts.

**Maria - The First Time**

It was the beginning of summer and unusually hot for the time of night. The sun had set and the stars were rising in the sky, but Maria was sweating and overall just feeling no good. She sat on the balcony of the apartment and looked out at the sky. She wondered if it would be starry somewhere else. She heard footsteps behind her and the slight scrape of Matt's cane.  
  
She smiled when she saw the young slave standing behind her, holding out a glass. She took it.   
  
"We made drinks," Matt said, a gentle smile on his face. There was something wonderful about him and his warm, sweet smiles.   
  
"Both of you?" she asked. No sooner did she speak than did Frank join them.  
  
"Let's be honest," Frank said, laughing. "I need his help just to mix up a few drinks. He's got a great..."   
  
Matt laughed. His laugh was really nice too, especially when it was mixed with her husband's. They were two very different men, but they were both extremely attractive. Frank was the soldier, strong, focused and almost lost without the war zone and Matt was the raised slave, learning slowly that he could be a person too.  
  
"Were you going to say 'a great eye for it' sir?" Matt asked, chuckling. "Well, not exactly, but I've got some pretty sharp senses."   
  
She adored them both.   
  
Maria took a drink and sighed, happily. Things were going so well. People were very critical when she and Frank had decided to get married young, but they had proved them otherwise. Things couldn't be better. School was good, Frank's outside work was supporting them and she was on the verge of a new job. They were in love and they had Matt.  
  
"It's beautiful out, isn't it?" she asked the men.   
  
"It feels like it," Matt said quietly.  
  
Maria blushed at her little slip-up.  
  
"The sky's not quite black yet," she told Matt. "It's got this somber, grey tone to it. It looks like it could be a starry night if we weren't in the middle of a city."   
  
"That does sound nice."   
  
They spent some time like that, just talking. Maria liked the way that Matt engaged Frank in deeper, more thoughtful conversation. They talked about the future, Frank's career both in and out of the military and Maria's schooling. Matt talked about summers with his father before he became a slave, but not with the sadness she expected. No, he spoke with reverence and memory.   
  
A few more drinks were passed between them in this time. Maria wasn't much of a drinker, and she could feel herself growing a bit hazy. It wasn't being drunk. It was more of a warm, comfortable sensation. Frank was telling Matt about his first girlfriend.   
  
"Did you have past relations?" Maria asked the slave, gently. She knew it was a little bit on the insensitive side, but she couldn't help herself.  
  
"Yes, when I was training," Matt told her. "I was trained in the act of pleasuring both males and females. I never actually had...like regular relationships or anything, but I know how to...you know...make someone feel good."   
  
Frank smiled and touched Matt's shoulder.  
  
"Someone should make you feel good, you know that?" he murmured.  
  
Maria looked at her husband, surprised. She met his eyes and nodded.   
  
"I agree."   
  
"Would it be okay if I kissed you, Matt?" Frank asked, looking at Maria too. Maria nodded slowly, her way of saying that Frank had permission if Matt wanted it. "Maria here tells me that I'm a pretty good kisser..."  
  
"The best..." she said.  
  
"Yes," Matt nearly yelped. He then sat back on one arm, blushing. "I mean, if that's what you want to do, sir."   
  
Once he had permission, Frank got up from the seat he was occupying. Matt stood up too, back to the railing of the balcony. Frank then pulled him close and kissed him.   
  
Maria watched, making sure that he was doing it right. When Frank was patient, the man was great and giving spine tingling-kisses. She saw Matt's expression, heard his tiny gasp and smirked against her glass. She knew that Matt felt awesome and that made her proud.  
  
It surprised her. She had considered doing something with Matt since he admitted to desiring sex, but she'd worried that she'd be jealous, possessive of her husband or whatever. Honestly, it felt kind of nice. It felt like Matt was a part of their world and didn't diminish the great love they felt for each other at all. Maria was pretty sold.  
  
Frank pulled back from Matt's lips and then looked over at Maria. He raised an eyebrow, curiously.  
  
"Maria?" he asked. "This okay?"  
  
She nodded, earnestly.   
  
"Maybe we should go to the bedroom," she suggested. "Okay."   
  
The bedroom was small and simple. Maria was pretty good, according to Frank, of making the most with the space she had. The bed wasn't huge, but it accommodated them pretty well.   
  
Maria got a taste of Matt's fantastic kissing pretty shortly after that. He pressed his lips to hers and ran a hand through her hair. The first thing that she noticed was that Matt was extremely soft, tender. He was a gentle soul beneath all of the things he had endured in his life.   
  
Matt pressed his lips against hers and kissed her like he was meant to be doing it. Behind him, Frank gently reached and tugged at his shirt. He broke the kiss with Maria only long enough to let Frank undress him.   
  
"Wow," Maria whispered as he touched his lips back to hers. She had to admit that aside from her husband, Matt was one of the most gorgeous mean that she had ever seen in her life.  
  
"What is it, Miss?" Matt asked against her lips.   
  
Maria didn't speak for a moment and her husband answered for her.  
  
"I think that my beloved wife is a little too polite to say 'damn, you're gorgeous."   
  
"I'm not that polite," Maria argued, smiling playfully. "I was just a little caught off guard."   
  
"Matt, man, I totally know what we've done," Frank said, reaching over and brushing back Matt's hair. Matt leaned into the touch, absolutely desperate for it. "What do you want to do?"   
  
"I can say anything?" Matt asked.  
  
"Please."   
  
"I've practiced giving pleasure," Matt murmured, a redness crossing his face that was adorable. "I'd like to start there."   
  
Maria pulled off her shirt, sitting up on her knees. She wriggled out of the rest of her clothes until her undergarments were all that remained. A surprised moan crossed Matt's lips, and Maria tilted her head to the side, confused for a moment. Over the past months, she had realized that Matt's senses were incredibly sharp.   
  
"You smell good," he whispered to her.   
  
Matt crawled across the bed and cautiously pulled down her underwear. Maria arched up, unable to keep the heat crossing her face. She'd never had sex with anyone but Frank, and the idea of a new man being in her bedroom was a little scary.   
  
Matt was very obviously trained at how to pleasure a woman. She laid back, and he knelt between her spread legs, kissing up her thighs. When she felt his tongue, her back arched and her head swam. Matt was an expert with tongue and lips and seemed to realize exactly when he'd hit a sensitive spot. Sweat trickled down her face and she looked up, to find her husband there. He kissed her sweetly.  
  
"God, Matt, I wish you could see what you're doing to her," Frank whispered, as she stretched, pressing against his mouth with all the force that she could muster. "It's fucking beautiful."   
  
"Tell me, sir, please," Matt whispered, pulling back off of her, the dizzying sensation subsiding for a moment. Then he was back below, drawing the orgasm from her like he'd trained his whole life to do it.  
  
Her whole body shuddered and it hit her like a white hot streak of lightning. She went limp against the bed and then tugged on Matt's shoulders. The slave expertly climbed up her body and kissed her deeply. She undid his pants and tugged them down in two sharp motions.  
  
She looked over his shoulder to see Frank getting out of his clothes.  
  
"I want to see you two," she murmured. "Would you?"  
  
Frank looked at Matt, eager for his consent. Matt turned around and nodded. She knew there was more to Matt. Maybe he couldn't see, but there was something that was much more about him.   
  
He could sense things that no blind man could. It really didn't make much sense, and she honestly had no idea how to explain it, but god, she didn't care - not in that moment. She was far more focused in on the things that Matt seemed to know how to do. He leaned over, whispered something to Frank. Frank replied and Matt rushed over towards the bathroom.  
  
"You okay?" Frank asked Maria, leaning down and nipping at her neck lightly. He knew just the spot that she loved. Shivers ran down her back. "This all okay?"  
  
"God, yes," she said. "Let me catch my breath. I wanna see you with him so bad, Frank."   
  
"I've never been with a guy before, Ria."   
  
"You've never been with anyone but me, Frankie," she teased him, brushing her hair out of her eyes.   
  
"Don't worry," Matt said, returning to them. "Trust me, sir, I have. I know what I'm doing."   
  
Maria watched in awe as Matt got onto the bed, spread his legs and arched his back up as he prepped himself. Her eyes widened at the sinful sight of the naked man groaning, fingers inside himself.  
  
"You best be watching, sir," Matt teased, the sound of his voice almost devious.   
  
"Oh, trust me, I am watching," Frank breathed.  
  
"Me too..." Maria added.   
  
"How do you want me?" Matt asked. "I can manage almost any position. It's up to you."   
  
"It's up to Maria."   
  
"I had a feeling you'd say that," Matt asked coyly, withdrawing his fingers from himself with a bit of a grunt. "Miss?"  
  
"I want to be able to see both of you," Maria said, finding her voice. "I just want to be able to see both of you."   
  
Matt seemed to understand and took over from there.   
  
"Go to the head of the bed, Miss," he said. He, himself, then crawled over to the end of the bed and knelt down onto his hands and knees, facing her. Taking a hint, Frank moved himself behind Matt, leaning down and pressing his lips to the slave's neck from behind. "Sir, please...It's okay. I'm very used to this and I need..."   
  
Maria propped herself up against the headboard and watched as Frank found a solid position behind Matt, arm wrapped around his defined stomach muscles, supporting him. When Frank pressed inside the slave, Matt let out the most delicious moan that Maria had ever heard in her whole life.   
  
Matt had a very expressive face. His eyes narrowed at what looked like a mix of pain and extreme pleasure. His mouth and the way it hung agape at least told her that he liked it. Frank steadied his hands against Matt's waist and leaned over, pressing his lips to the younger man's neck.  
  
"Please, sir," Matt begged. "I'm not made of glass. You can move; I promise."   
  
Frank started very slow, rolling his hips. Frank was honestly the most attractive man Maria had seen in her life, but Matt was starting to tie with him for that role.   
  
Matt whimpered, fisting the bedcovering beneath him.   
  
Matt rocked forward on his knees, arching his back and groaning.   
  
"Please, please, faster," he begged Frank.  
  
Maria was still tingling from her first orgasm, but she couldn't help reach down and touch herself as she watched her beautiful husband fuck their slave - no, no, he wasn't their slave. That was such a diminishing term. Matt was their - Matt.   
  
Maria leaned over so that she could see Frank reach over and start stroking Matt's length. For someone who had never touched a cock in his life, her husband was bringing Matt close to the edge with those touches.   
  
"God, yes sir please."   
  
The sound that Matt made when he finally came was the most beautiful thing that Maria had heard in her life. He exhaled, hard and whimpered.   
  
"Oh god, oh - oh!"  
  
She sighed happily. Frank came too, then, quieter than Matt but not any less gorgeous.   
  
"Boys, you need to recover fast, okay?" she whispered. "Cause I need more."


	4. Chapter 4

**Matt - Maria's Graduation**

Matt didn't exactly like to go outside. Well, it wasn't that he disliked the act of going out itself, but the act of going out as a slave was a tedious one. He had to be collared and there were expectations to how he was supposed to behave. Being outside reminded him that he was not a free man and was not equal to the two people he loved so much.   
  
This time, however, he was making an exception. Maria Castle was graduating with honors. Her business degree was very important for Maria, who had been interning with a local veteran's group for the past year and wanted to get involved with it's management and leadership.   
  
Matt was proud of Maria and despite his anxieties about crowds and his status as a slave, he agreed to go.  
  
"Your boy can stay in the back," someone told Frank and Matt got a quick read on him. He was tired, worn out and wanted the day to end. "You need me to walk him back over there?"   
  
"No, I'll do it," Frank said. He walked with Matt towards the back of the auditorium, to a small section that had been reserved for slaves. He left a hand on Matt's shoulder as they walked.   
  
"Matt, are you okay?" Frank asked, his voice low.   
  
"I'll be fine, sir," Matt promised, eyes low. "I'll meet you right here after the ceremony is over. I want to be here for her."   
  
"You're the best, Matt."   
  
The ceremony wasn't that interesting, for the most part. Matt just sat quietly and listened to it. It took a lot of effort for him to tune out the million and one sounds that came from the crowd.   
  
"Maria Castle."   
  
Matt could hear Frank clearly as he yelled and cheered for his wife. Matt kept his applause more demure, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention.   
  
He was proud of Maria though. She worked so hard and she deserved the very best. Matt loved her dearly - he loved Frank too. They were just his whole world and he would do anything for them.   
  
The ceremony was rather quick, and soon Matt heard Maria and Frank approaching.   
  
"Congratulations, Miss," he said.   
  
Although he had a feeling that Maria wanted to do more, Maria lightly squeezed his hand.   
  
"Thank you Matty," she said. "Let's go home and celebrate by ourselves."   
  
That, honestly, sounded like the best idea ever. Matt couldn't get out of the stuffy, oppressive environment soon enough. Plus, he knew that their celebration would be amazing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Maria - Baby Makes Four**  
  
Maria stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. She wasn't exactly sure what to think, honestly. Here she was, twenty-two years old and pregnant. She was young, terrified and yet at the same time pleased. She was happily married and she, Frank, and Matt had begun to create a home.  
  
Yet, she wasn't sure how either of the men in her life were going to react to the news. Frank was a good man, and would make a great father, but at the same time he was so young and had already been deployed once. A second deployment was on the horizon and she didn't like the idea of losing Frank or taking him away from his child.   
  
Or was it his child?   
  
Maria had to, of course, entertain the idea that the baby might be Matt's. She, Matt and Frank had been engaged in vigorous, creative sex for months. There was no saying which of the two men had supplied the DNA for the baby.  
  
Well, there was no time but the present when it came to delivering news.  
  
She walked into the living room and found Matt and Frank sitting on the sofa. Matt was leaning into Frank's shoulder and looked half-asleep. Frank was watching a football game.  
  
"Guys, can we talk for a minute?"   
  
Both of the men looked up. Frank yawned and flipped off the television. Matt scooted away from Frank so that he could sit up straight.   
  
Maria took the chair opposite of them.   
  
"This is serious," Matt said, his eyes narrowing. "Maria, is something wrong?"  
  
Maria shook her head.   
  
"No, no," she said softly. "Nothing's wrong at all. I'm just really nervous to tell you guys about this one..."  
  
"'Ria what is it?" Frank asked, leaning forward.   
  
He stood up and she looked straight up at him. Matt stood as well, so pressured, Maria stood up too.   
  
"I know that we've been pretty careful with protection and stuff," she said, biting her lip, "but I just took two pregnancy tests. You guys, I'm pregnant."   
  
At first, neither of them spoke. Matt was absolutely quiet and Frank stared at her with the biggest eyes possible. His face paled considerably and she almost thought that her big, strong, beautiful Frank was going to faint on the spot.   
  
To his credit, though, Frank did not faint. Instead, he pulled her into a tight hug, holding her against him.   
  
"Oh god, Ria," he whispered. "Oh my god..."   
  
To their left, Matt stood awkwardly, looking down towards the ground. Maria could tell that he felt awkward, so she disentangled herself from Frank and took Matt's hand, then reached for Frank's as well.  
  
"You okay, Matt?"  
  
Matt nodded slowly, looking up. Being blind, he never quite made eye contact, but she could tell when his focus was on her.   
  
"I'm a bit shocked," he managed. "Congratulations, Miss. I am so happy for you two."   
  
Maria was about to say something, but it was Frank who wrapped an arm around Matt's shoulder. Matt flinched, surprised.   
  
"You should be happy for all three of us," Frank said, voice gruff with emotion. "I don't know how it happened, really, but the three of us became a family. We got no idea who's DNA that baby has and ... I don't really care, you know?"   
  
"You mean I'm..."   
  
"Of course you are, Matt," Maria said, her earlier anxieties flooding out of her. It was such an immense and total sense of relief. "You're part of this family too and this baby is going to have a mother and two wonderful fathers. There is no doubt in my mind to that."   
  
The anxiety in her mind was eased almost instantly. Yes, Maria was scared. There was no doubt in her mind that she was young, that she was inexperienced, and that this was going to be a challenge. Yet, she knew that she had two of the most amazing men in the world in her life and that she had absolutely nothing to be afraid of.


	6. Chapter 6

**Matt - Truth**  
  
Maria tripped.   
  
She was six-months pregnant, tired and she tripped. Matt had, of course, sprung into action. He leaped forward and caught her by the arm as she stumbled, pulling her against him. She let out a gasp of surprise and relief.  
  
Then she looked at him and he felt her heart rate increase considerably.   
  
"Matt?" she asked. "How did you do that?"  
  
Matt held her against his chest. He had reacted, immediately, not caring about the consequences. Matt had tried several times over to tell Maria and Frank about himself and what he was capable of doing. He had never, however, found the right moment. How did he explain something like that to the two people he loved? He didn't want to change anything about their world.   
  
"Maria," he whispered, letting her go. It had taken months for him to get used to using their first names. "I guess we need to talk, but we need to wait until he's home too..."  
  
So, they waited.  
  
An hour later, all three of them were seated in the same living room where Maria had told them she was pregnant. Now, it was Matt's turn to lay on the bombshell and he wasn't exactly sure how to proceed. He could feel them both staring at him.  
  
"I told you both about the accident that blinded me," he said softly. Even though he no longer had his sight, it was hard not to see that day replayed over and over on the back of his mind. "There were these chemicals and then next thing I knew I was in the hospital, blind."   
  
"Yes, you told us..." Maria said, taking his hand.  
  
"I was blind, but there was something else," Matt admitted, slowly. "I couldn't see, but I could do other things. I could hear a baby being born three floors down. I could smell the exact number of cigarettes the doctor had smoked and feel his heart racing. I knew he was scared because he wasn't certain if one of his patients was going to make it..."   
  
"How's that possible?" Frank asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "That can't be..."  
  
"Trust me, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either," Matt said. He could feel the nervousness radiating off of both of the people he loved and he hoped this didn't change how they felt about him. He was just another person. "I can use my other senses to create a sort of picture of the world around me. I can't see anything, visually, but I can tell little things that help me..."   
  
"That's extraordinary," Maria whispered. "Matt, you just saved the baby, you know that?"  
  
"I..." Matt began, and shook his head. "I just felt that you were about to stumble by the way your breath caught and your foot scuffed against the floor."   
  
"If I'd fallen, I could have hurt her," she said, softly. "I'm a clutz, Matthew. I could have fallen and seriously hurt our little girl and your gift stopped that."   
  
"My gift?" Matt asked. He'd never really heard it referred to us such. His father had thought he was traumatized and the nuns thought he was crazy. Once he'd settled and realized it was real, he thought of it more as a thing to control, to tame. "Is it a gift?"   
  
"It is."   
  
Matt turned towards Frank, who had spoken up. He couldn't help himself. He stepped over and hugged him tightly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Frank/Matt - Labor**  
  
Maria went into labor at two in the morning. She sat up in bed and when Matt sat up too, Frank realized what that meant.   
  
"Maria?" Matt asked softly. "You're hurting. Does that mean this is..."  
  
Maria groaned out in pain. She took a deep breath and then got out of bed. Frank immediately rose and helped her to her feet. She had been joking during the last month or so about waddling more than walking.   
  
"I got you," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Matt went to her other side and when Frank was sure Matt had her entirely, he let go. "Matt, keep her close okay? I'm going to get the car right now..."   
  
Frank waited until he was outside and the door was closed before he started running. He knew it was a bit undignified and given his military history he should have been able to handle a crisis a bit better, but still, he ran.   
  
When he pulled the car around, he found that Matt and Maria were waiting calmly with a bag of Maria's things. He was proud of the both of them.  
  
Maria shot him a smile. It was a beautiful smile that showcased his wife's strength, but he could also tell that she was afraid. Matt quickly opened the back door and helped her into the car.   
  
"Should I..."   
  
"Stay back there with her, yeah," Frank said, nodding.   
  
Matt cautiously helped Maria into the car. Maria slid into the seat and closed her eyes.   
  
"The contractions may not be close enough," she said honestly, "but I just want to be safe."   
  
The drive was quick, but it still seemed to Frank like he was in a dream. It felt unreal. As he drove, he could hear Matt quietly comforting Maria in the back seat.   
  
"I'll need to linger back after she's taken to a room," Matt said softly, directing his words toward Frank. "We picked a hospital that will let me in the room, at least, but... will you be okay?"   
  
"I'll be fine," he promised. "Don't worry Matty."

Lisa Castle was born at 12:31 am. Maria had been in labor for six hours and Matt had never been so horrified in his life. He was thankful for once that he lacked sight, because all of his other senses were overworked as it was. His ears were ringing from all of the chatter in the hospital, as well as Maria's whimpers and cries. He could smell the blood, the fluids and the sterile solutions. There was movement, tension and he hated it. He hated the hospital.  
  
Then, Lisa was born.   
  
Her cries were shrill, piercing and set Matt's senses on fire, but at the same time it was the most beautiful sound ever. Maria sagged against the bed and Frank let out a gasp of relief. Matt, himself, stayed back. Many of the staff seemed uncomfortable at having a slave so close, so he just lingered back. He'd get his time with Lisa - he knew that.   
  
"Look at her," Maria whispered in awe.   
  
"She's beautiful, Miss," Matt said, trying to act the role of the polite, good little slave. He needed to play that role until their family was safe in their own home. "She's absolutely beautiful."   
  
"She is..." Maria said fondly. "Oh our little Lisa."   
  
Matt had never really thought much about children. He'd lost a lot of his own childhood to his father's early death and his blindness. Children were unnecessarily loud, frightening and fragile. He'd most definitely never wanted one of his own.   
  
Now, all he could think about was being in their own home so that he could hold Lisa for himself. It didn't matter whose daughter she was biologically. She was all of theirs, and Matt had never been so happy in his entire life.   
  
"Quietest newborn I've seen in some time," commented a nurse politely. "You may be a very lucky woman."   
  
"I know I'm a lucky woman," Maria said softly. "Very lucky."


	8. Chapter 8

**Matt - training**  
  
"Can I talk to you about something?" Matt asked. He had sensed Frank entering the kitchen, so he'd joined him there.   
  
Frank was standing against the the counter , rifling through one of the top drawers of the pantry. He pulled something out, a box of cereal maybe, and turned towards Matt.   
  
"Always," he assured. "What's up?"   
  
Matt paced a bit, listening to Frank pour the cereal into a bowl.   
  
"I want to train," he said. "I know that I have some really unique abilities, but I want to try and train, to hone them and get them on a level that makes them worth something. I mean, I know I can do some stuff that nobody else can, but...I need to learn how to control it, to handle it."   
  
"You've been watching the news too," Frank said, going to the fridge, opening it, then closing it once he had what he needed. "There's been a lot of stuff going on, and not just here."   
  
"Yeah," Matt agreed. "Here's got a lot of the worst of it, though. I want to make sure that I can keep my family safe in any situation, you know? Especially now that Lisa is around."   
  
"You want me to teach you some hand-to-hand combat?"   
  
"As a start, yeah," Matt said, nodding. "Then maybe you can teach me some basic weapon stuff. I just want to make sure that I'm equipped. You never know what can happen."   
  
"You never know," Frank agreed. "I'll do it, Matty."   
  
So, they found themselves a gym. It was a small place and Frank knew the owner. Frank had been able to get them a short period, a couple of times a week, when they could train together. Matt got a feel for the place, using his hands, because he found that the gym was empty enough to not be able to sense much.   
  
They started with defensive tactics. Frank, at first, was a bit afraid to throw a punch.   
  
"What if you can't deflect it?" he asked.  
  
"I can deflect it," Matt assured. "I just need to learn some technique. Please."   
  
So, Frank threw the first punch. It was a little bit slow and Matt was certain that Frank wasn't using his complete strength, but he sensed it coming toward him and caught it, instantly. He caught Frank's fist in one hand and pushed it back.   
  
"See, I can do this," he said.  
  
"I believe in you, Matt."


	9. Chapter 9

**Frank - Deployment**  
  
Frank looked between Matt and Maria and felt his heart drop into his stomach. Matt was on the floor with Lisa, who was crawling slowly toward him giggling hysterically. Next to them, Maria sat on the sofa, legs curled up to her chest. She looked exhausted.  
  
They had discussed the possibility of his being deployed again for the last few years. It was going to happen, really. It was just a matter of when. Frank wanted to go back, too. Of course he didn't want to leave his family, or risk his life, but the military and his service was part of who he was.   
  
They all knew it was coming, but now that it was actually there, it was a sickening feeling. Leaving Matt and Maria was hard enough, but leaving his little girl? Yeah, that was going to kill him. Still, Frank knew that he was needed. His expertise was needed out there and there was so much good that he could do.   
  
"Matty...Maria..." he murmured, walking into the room.  
  
Both of them looked up at him. It seemed like they knew what he was about to say. Matt probably did, given the things that he could do. He had admitted a few months earlier that he could often tell when someone was lying, or upset, or extremely emotional.   
  
Maria got up, and Matt picked Lisa up. The baby was really drawn to Matt, naturally, and seemed a ton calmer when her daddy Matty had his arms around her. She laid her head against his chest, cooing quietly.  
  
"What is it?" Maria asked, reaching over and taking his hand. Frank squeezed her hand lightly, looking at the two of them joint together, and then over to Matt, who was holding the little light of his life. "Frank, it's okay. We had a feeling that this was coming, right?"   
  
"When?" Matt asked, holding Lisa to him like she meant everything in the world, and god, she did. "When do you leave?"  
  
Frank was surprised at how perceptive the two people he loved most really were.   
  
"I have two weeks," he said quietly. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, exactly. Six months to start, but it could go longer. I don't...I don't know."   
  
Maria leaped forward and wrapped both arms firmly around his waist. She held him so tightly that he felt like he could break. Little tiny Maria was holding onto him and he felt like he could break. He wrapped his arms around her and held tight, leaning over and kissing her shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ria. I am so sorry."   
  
"Frank, don't," she said softly, pulling back and looking straight at him. "We knew this was coming and Matt and I figured out some plans. This is part of Matt has you training him so hard and why I've been learning how to take care of myself too. We want to make sure that we're going to be able to protect ourselves and our baby. It's going to be okay."   
  
"Matt?" he asked, turning to look at Matt.  
  
Maria let go of him so that he could rush over and wrap both arms around the younger man.   
  
Matt hugged him back and there was an intensity to the way that he held on. Frank leaned against his shoulder.  
  
"You okay?"   
  
"I'll be okay," Matt promised, leaning over and pressing his face into Frank's shoulder. "Don't worry about me. Don't worry about us. We'll handle it."


	10. Chapter 10

**Maria** / **Frank** \- **War**

  
"It's been weeks without any kind of contact," Maria said, shaking her head.   
  
She knew that when Frank was gone - deployed in Iraq - that there was going to be very sporadic communication. A video chat here and there and a heartfelt letter was all that they were going to be able to expect. Still, the fact that it had been weeks was weighing down on her. She looked over at Matt and could see that the darling boy was feeling the same thing. It hurt, so much.  
  
"I know," Matt agreed, walking over and taking her hand in both of his. "It's hard not to know."   
  
Maria looked into Matt's sweet eyes and smiled. They really were beautiful eyes, despite the fact that they were unseeing ones. He was such a sweet, kind soul and she loved him - entirely. She wasn't sure what she'd do if Matt wasn't with her.   
  
"I keep imagining the worst case scenarios," she said. An anxious sound escaped her and she closed her eyes. It didn't even sound like her voice. "I keep imagining them coming to us and telling us that he...was hurt, or killed, or..."   
  
Matt wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. He was surprisingly strong. Despite what he was capable of, Matt always surprised her with his strength. Maria leaned over and pressed her head against his shoulder.   
  
"I love you Maria," he whispered.  
  
Maria looked at Matt and found herself overwhelmed by the love she felt for him. It was amazing how Matt had become such a powerful part of her life, that she couldn't imagine being without him anymore. Matt was as much of a part of her life as Frank was and she could not even remember a time before him. It was all fuzzy.  
  
"I love you too Matt," she whispered. "How's Lisa?"  
  
"Sound asleep."   
  
"There's that, at least," Maria said with a laugh. Lisa had been so fussy for so long and now that she was sleeping (mostly) through the night, things were quieter, better. "Tell me things are going to be okay, Matty."   
  
At that, Matt sighed. She knew he wasn't much for lying, so she didn't expect it of him.  
  
"I believe that we're strong, Maria," he said.  
  
That was enough.   
  
"We'll be okay..."

Frank had been deployed before, but this one was worse. The day's blended into weeks, and although he was skilled at what he did, he never expected the real toll of combat. There was nothing that could take away from him the fact that he'd killed. They were what his superiors called morally sound kills, soldiers, but at the same time, there was no taking that guilt away.  
  
He wanted to go home. There was nothing he wanted more than to be back with Maria, and Matt, and their little Lisa. They were doing well, as far as he knew, but God, he missed them with all of him.   
  
He was scared of dying, of course. That fear was natural and if he asked any man in his unit, they would respond with the same thing. They were afraid, but they shoved that fear down and acted. Frank kept acting, over and over. He hoped that each time he had to do something horrible, something unforgivable, that it wasn't his last.  
  
Frank knew that he was lucky, to be honest. Several of the men he worked with were afraid of leaving their families alone, in need. Frank knew that even if the very worst were to happen to him, his family would be okay. Lisa had two parents who adored her no matter what. Matt and Maria could take care of themselves, and each other.   
  
He stared at the photograph he kept of them. It kept him sane, focused.   
  
"Your baby is beautiful," Barnes, one of the men in his unit, said gently. "What's her name?"  
  
Frank turned around, the moment broken.   
  
"Her name's Lisa."   
  
"That's your wife there?"  
  
"Yeah," Frank murmured. "Maria."   
  
"Who's the guy with her?"   
  
"His name...he's Matt, he's...a friend." Frank paused, hating that he couldn't be honest about his relationship with Matt. He didn't dare say that the younger man was their slave, because he didn't want to get in it with a fellow soldier. "He's helping Maria with the baby while I'm away..."   
  
"I wish I had a friend like that."   
  
"Yeah."   
  
He knew that he was going to come home to his family, soon.


	11. Chapter 11

**Matt - The Devil**  
  
The cries woke Matt up from a deep sleep. They were the small, shrill cries of a little girl. The sharp sound of flesh on flesh told him that someone was being struck. There were several more loud sounds and another helpless cry.   
  
Someone was beating a child.  
  
Matt's senses pieced together a picture, and it was not one he could stand for. A child was being beaten, brutally, by what sounded and felt like a grown man. Matt got up out of bed. Maria, he realized, when he listened in, was sound asleep. He quietly crept over to Lisa's crib and could hear the soft sounds of the baby's breathing.  
  
He went to the closet and found one of Maria's scarves. He took it, tied it over his eyes, and ran.   
  
Finding the home of the abused child was easy. Matt had practiced honing his senses, narrowing them down until he found the source of what he was hearing, feeling. He broke in through an open back window. The girl was in her room, cowering, whimpering. Her pain was palpable and Matt thought about his little Lisa.  
  
Then he lured the father outside. It was easy enough.   
  
Matt, who could barely remember his sight, remembered the color red. He saw red the moment that his fist first made contact with the man's face. He hit him again and again and the red accompanied his burning world. It made him feel stronger, more capable and viciously angry. He beat the man until he heard the telltale signs that said he was going to kill him.  
  
Then, he stopped.   
  
Matt straddled the man's body, knee on his chest.  
  
"You've learned a lesson tonight," he growled, the voice coming out hardly his own. "You lay a hand on your daughter again, and I'll come back. I'll come back and finish the job I started tonight. Trust me, I will know what you do. I knew what you were doing and I came to get justice for her. Beware."   
  
Matt left.  
  
He returned home to find that Maria was still sound asleep. Lisa, in her crib, was awake, but not making a sound. She gurgled, pleased, the moment he stepped into her visual path. Matt took off the scarf, tossed it aside, and then picked Lisa up, holding her in his arms.   
  
"I love you baby girl," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I love you so much...


	12. Chapter 12

Maria - Homecoming

By the time Maria reached the airport, she was already a little testy. Lisa had was teething and wailing, but she had insisted on the baby coming to her to get Frank. She had wanted Matt to come too, but he had calmly insisted that this probably wasn't a good idea.

"It's just going to cause complications," Matt had insisted solemnly. "I'll have to wear my collar, and if anything seems out of the norm, then people are going to look." 

"But Matt..."

"It's okay, Maria," Matt had said calmly, taking her hand. "You can take Lisa with you, if you want, and then you can bring him home to me..." 

Truthfully, Maria felt out of place among the other women waiting for their husbands to return. They all had their marriages, and that sort of military wife camaraderie, but she could never share in their world, because as much as she loved her enlisted husband - she also had her Matt. 

All of her doubts, of course, went out the door when Frank appeared in front of her. Tears sprung to her eyes and she rushed towards him. 

"Maria," he said, putting his arms around her. Lisa, smushed between two of her parents, started to cry even more. "Oh, Lisa, baby girl you've gotten so big. C'mere. Can I?" 

"Of course," Maria said, unable to stop the tears that were pouring steadily down her face. "Of course Frank." 

"Hi Lisa," Frank said, taking her into his arms. He was so strong that he supported her entire body with one arm, keeping one hand on Maria's side. Maria watched them, crying helplessly. "Oh, little Lisa, I missed you so much. I missed you mama too." 

Frank shifted Lisa in his arms and kissed Maria slowly. She sighed, happily. 

"Matty wanted to come," Maria explained. "We decided it'd just be hard, though." 

"It would have," Frank agreed somberly. "How are you guys?" 

On the drive home, Maria told him everything in great detail. She told him about the things they'd been doing, and everything possible about Lisa. She also told him about how Matt had been acting odd lately, but that was just because he missed Frank, of course. 

Once they got home, she looked at Frank. "Go get him. "

As she pulled Lisa out of the car, she watched as Matt met Frank at the door. Watching those boys hug, she could not keep the smile off of her face. Things were starting to feel right again.


	13. Chapter 13

Frank/Maria - Daredevil  
  
Frank woke up from a nightmare. It was his third in a week, and his chest hurt. He looked from side to side and reacquainted himself with his surroundings. He had a very methodical way of dealing with his terrors. It was working for him, even if he was physically and mentally exhausted.   
  
He got up and walked towards the kitchen. He heard a noise.   
  
"Matt?"   
  
He hadn't even realized that Matt was not in bed. He, Matt and Maria rarely all slept together. Often, they traded off. That night, he and Maria had been in the big bed, so he'd assumed Matt was in the smaller one at the other side of the room. Matt, however, was in the kitchen near the sink.   
  
"Oh, hi," Matt said, turning so that he was half facing Frank. The other half of him, however, was purposefully facing the sink. Matt kept his gaze down. "Did you have a nightmare? Is everything okay?"   
  
Frank took two long strides towards Matt. He knew that the younger man was hiding something, so he carefully took his face in hand and turned it toward him. There he saw the deep bruise, lining Matt's cheek, all the way down to his jaw.   
  
"Matty, what the hell happened?"  
  
Frank didn't understand, and that worried him. Maria had mentioned a few days after his return that Matt had been acting oddly, suspicious. Something was indeed wrong, but Matt had not told them what.   
  
"Oh, it's nothing," Matt said, turning his face away even more. "I was just training and I totally ran into the punching bag. I should have known better than to train at this time, but I just couldn't sleep. I thought it'd help..."   
  
"Matt, come on."   
  
Matt froze as Frank touched his bruised cheek and forced him to look straight at him.   
  
"You're trying to tell me that a punching bag did that?" Frank asked softly. "I'm not stupid."   
  
Terror showed clearly on Matt's face. He looked from side to side, desperately, and then met Frank's eyes.   
  
"There was a woman being mugged," he admitted, looking up at Frank. "It was stupid. The guy who did it was a junkie, and he wasn't all there, but he was a lot bigger than her and had a good grip on her arm."   
  
"How did you know?"   
  
Matt looked down.   
  
"My senses have been getting stronger," he admitted quietly. "I could hear it and it was a couple blocks down the road. I left and I...handled it."   
  
"Matt," Frank said, voice wavering. He hated to betray his fear to Matt, but there it was. "Someone could have seen you!"   
  
"I wore a mask," Matt admitted, his voice sheepish. It reminded Frank of the excuses he'd give his mother when he was a child and had done something wrong. "I've...been taking care of some things around the city, mostly at night, or when Maria and Lisa are out..."   
  
"Are you trying to be some sort of crime fighter?" Frank asked, immediately.   
  
Matt paused and Frank could see the guilt all over his face.   
  
"Matty, you know you've got something special, but is this the way to use it?" he asked, gently. He didn't want to seem upset, even though the idea of Matt going out and fighting bad guys was enough to make his stomach turn. "I mean, the streets are so dangerous."   
  
"Our daughter's growing up here," Matt said, quietly, but with a passion that felt overwhelming. "Our little girl's going to be old enough to experience the streets of Hell's Kitchen before we know it."   
  
"I support you, Matt," Frank said quietly. Even though it killed him, he supported what Matt was doing in the end. He knew exactly what it was like to want to use the skills you were born with, and those you developed over time, to do something great with yourself. "I just don't want it to be a secret, and I want you to know the risk. You're a slave. You're a marked slave and there's a huge risk of you getting caught, as well as a risk of you getting killed."   
  
"I know it."   
  
"If we're doing this, we're doing it together."

Two days later, after Maria had cooled down some from the information given to her by her two loves, she took them for a meeting with a man.

 

"Hello..." the man said awkwardly, looking at the three of them one by one.   
  
"It's okay, Melvin," Maria said, patting the man's hand lightly. "Matt, Frank, this is Melvin."   
  
"Which one of them is the one you told me about?"   
  
Maria gestured to Matt. When Matt had first told her about his work on the streets, there had been a nasty fight and she'd spent days not talking to him. Once she calmed down, though, Maria had thought about it. Hell's Kitchen was a nasty neighborhood and yet, there was something about it that all three loved. It was a place that had potential, if it was protected by the right set of hands. Matt had the skills to do that, and if Frank backed him up, they could be a cure for all of the trouble.   
  
So, Maria being Maria, she had done some investigating. Her investigation led her to a man that she knew briefly during college. Melvin had built impressive pieces of functional clothing for other 'gifted' people in the area, and his developmental slowness had led to him talking about it a bit too much. Maria had noted this, and once she realized what her lovers were becoming, she decided she could utilize Melvin's help - and maybe help him in the process.   
  
"He's one of them special people?" Melvin asked Maria, doubtfully. "He doesn't look that special..."   
  
Matt chuckled at that.   
  
"I guess I don't really look the part," he admitted sheepishly, "but I was blinded when I was a child and that gave me some sort of...ability."   
  
"I guess none of them look the part," the man grumbled. "Maria, are you sure he's one of the good ones? I've been in trouble with that before..."   
  
"Trust me, he's one of the good ones. Can you help him?"   
  
"I can help him."   
  
Two weeks later, Matt looked at Maria and Frank. He was wearing the designer's costume and waited for a response. He just didn't expect that response to be Frank laughing. Frank burst out laughing immediately, and Matt could hear Maria shushing him.   
  
"I'm sorry," Frank responded quickly. "I just...I just can't believe he actually gave you devil horns. It's...heavy handed, to say the least."   
  
"I think that's what people need," Maria murmured. "It is."


	14. Chapter 14

**Interlude - Nightmares.**  
  
Over three years, life moved quickly and found a sort of rhythm.   
  
Maria found a job working with a local businessman as a personal assistant. It wasn't the career path that she imagined, but her boss was very wealthy and Mr. Wilson Fisk had a vision for the future. He was going to restore Hell's Kitchen in a way that nobody had yet. The money and the security for her daughter was more than worth it. She was happy, content, despite constant worries about the two men that she loved.  
  
There was also the matter of their ever growing family to think of. Lisa was three years old, an active, excited toddler with a huge personality and she had a brother on the way. There was, of course, the little issue that Maria had yet to tell Matt and Frank.   
  
Frank had deployed a second time, a tour that was worst than the first. It had weighed heavily on his soul and definitely cut down his options for a future that did not involve being a soldier. He was glad that Maria and Matt had each other, but leaving left Matt to his extra activities alone too. It was difficult... He didn't know what the future meant to him, because after coming home from his next deployment, he felt like less of a man.  
  
Matt, too, had his struggles. Daredevil, as they dubbed him, was a presence of Hell's Kitchen, but after several serious injuries, he was making Maria and Frank both crazy. There was so much going on.   
  
The nightmares were everywhere, and they were only getting worse.


	15. Chapter 15

Matt/Frank - Instinct and Loss

"You suspect my boss of something," Maria said plainly, crossing her arms and looking at Matt curiously. Matt didn't need to see the expression to know it was there. Maria doubted him entirely. That was, of course, why he hadn't even voiced his suspicion of Wilson Fisk. "What do you think he did, Matty?" 

"I don't know, Maria," he whispered. "I just heard some stuff when I was on the street patrolling last night, and I think it all leads back to him somehow..." 

"That doesn't makes sense. Wilson Fisk is a good man and he's doing wonders for the city." 

"That's why it's just a suspicion, Maria," Matt said, reaching over and taking her hand. He then laid his free hand against her stomach. "I have several suspicions, you know?" 

Maria gasped, tensing up. 

"Matthew, can you hear it or something?" 

Matt cracked a smile at that. He knew that his abilities were complicated, and it was hard for even him to wrap his head around. 

"No, I can't hear it," he said, pulling her close and kissing her cheek. "Your scent is off, though, and there's just something I instinctively sense." 

"Oh." 

"How long have you known?" he asked. 

"A few weeks," Maria admitted, sheepishly. Matt could hear her embarrassment. "Things have just been rough lately - what with your extracurricular activities and all..." 

Guilt washed over Matt and he swallowed, heavily. 

"Maria..." 

"It's not just you," she admitted. "Frank..." 

"He's really struggling, isn't it?" Matt asked. He could sense that Frank was struggling, but at the same time, he felt helpless. There was very little he could do for a soldier dealing with his experiences. 

Matt could feel Maria's subtle nod.

"I'm scared," she admitted. "He's been dealing with so much, and he hasn't even really been around when Lisa wants him." 

"He'll come back to us, Maria." 

Frank knew that he was lost. He'd visited a total of one mandated therapist, and she had told him in no uncertain terms that he was suffering from PTSD. 

It made sense. On his last deployment, they had lost a lot of men, and those that had come back had been scarred for life. Frank was one of the few blessed without permanent physical scarring, at least. Yeah, he was lost and there was no way to find himself back.

Matt and Maria tried their best to help him, but they couldn't reach him. Even Lisa tried, with her three year old's wisdom. 

"Daddy," she whined. "We can read my book tonight?"

"Isn't your mama doing that?" he asked her. 

Lisa's expression broke his heart, but he felt blank, like there was a shell between him and the outside world. It hurt, but it didn't hurt enough.

Things wern't good. Maria was working a good job, and more than filling in the gaps financially, but Matt was still roaming the streets at night in a job that was more dangerous than any of them could handle. 

Then there was the baby.

"I think it'll be a boy," Maria had told him, a grin on her face as she laid his flat hand against her stomach. "I know that's what most people think when they already have a girl, but I feel it by instinct, you know?" 

"I bet it will be," Frank replied. He had smiled, giving her the best reaction he could, but it was truly difficult to smile. He had a feeling that Maria knew how fake it was. "What are we going to call the little man?" 

"I was thinking we name him after you." 

"What?" Frank asked her, dazed. "What did Matt say to that idea?" 

Matt had stepped out of the shadows, like the mysterious figure he always was. 

"I suggested it, Frank." 

Frank had never been so lost, but he knew his family was the key.


	16. Chapter 16

**Matt/Maria - Peace and Happiness**

 

Maria - Peace  
  
Maria Castle was missing one thing.   
  
More than anything, she missed peace. It seemed so long ago that she felt at ease. Work, her pregnancy, and the stress of the men she loved piled on and it got heavier and heavier. It was too much to handle.   
  
Then, Frank Jr., or Frankie, was born. His birth itself was far from peaceful. No, he came early and the birth was fast. Maria was glad that Frank was even able to meet her at the hospital on time.   
  
"Is Matt with Lisa?" she asked immediately. Things had been hard, but their children were always going to be number one. "Are they..."   
  
She leaned back against the hospital bed and Frank leaned over, kissing her forehead.   
  
"Matt's got her," he assured. "They're headed here. Just focus on you and this baby, Ria."   
  
"I will."   
  
The world vanished when her son was born. Nobody and nothing else mattered for that split second.   
  
"Hi Frankie," she whispered, overwhelmed the second that she saw his little face. Maria knew very well that children were not a cure to their parents' problems, but looking at him flooded her with peace. "My Frankie."   
  
Frankie wasn't a cure, no, but he gave her that inner peace she so needed.   
  
Matt was all around pretty happy. He had stopped a drug trafficking ring that threatened to take over the city. Fisk, although not stopped, had backed down considerably and Matt was closer to figuring out what he was all about and Maria was helping him uncover the man's secrets from the inside.   
  
Then, there were his children. Their biological origins were uncertain, sure, but there was no doubt that Lisa and Frankie had three parents.   
  
Matt grinned at what was going on in front of him. He didn't need his sight to enjoy it. Lisa and Maria were in the grass at the park. Lisa was all giggles as Maria showed her how to blow on a dandelion. Matt watched them as only he could, listening to her wet attempts at spreading the fluff.   
  
"Cute, huh?"   
  
He turned to Frank, and he knew that his beloved Frank was all smiles.   
  
"You're smiling," he declared.   
  
"You're blind," Frank teased. "How do you know?"  
  
"I know you, Frank," Matt replied. "I also know your smile. I missed it."   
  
"Me too," Frank admitted, after a long pause. "Me too, Matty."   
  
Matt took Frank's hand and held it close to his chest. He smiled, thoughtfully.


	17. Chapter 17

**Matt - Happiness Shattered**  
  
  
Gunpowder. Loud heartbeats. Anxiety. Fear. Talking. Yelling.  
  
Matt sprung into action. All thought stopped and suddenly, he became more creature than man. Matt was a creature of pure instinct.  
  
"Get down!"   
  
Matt shoved Maria to the ground. Maria instinctively covered Frankie, shielding the baby with her body.   
  
Next to her, Lisa shrieked.   
  
The world slowed down. Two gangs and sudden gunfire. A family in the crossfire. Matt had no mask to protect his identity, but he immediately sprung into the same action he had been taking for years.   
  
Guns went off and bodies fell. Matt felt nothing, although later he would recall Frank grabbing someone's weapon and mowing down gangbangers before he was hit. At this point, though, he was all action and no reaction.  
  
There was a scream. It was Lisa's.   
  
Bodies fell.   
  
All Matt knew was that he had to protect his family.  
  
"Frank!" Maria screamed.  
  
Matt felt Frank go down. He made sure Lisa and Frankie were both in Maria's arms.   
  
"Go!" he yelled, shoving her.   
  
"There was a slave! I saw the collar!"   
  
Matt heard the words and wasn't sure where they came from. He jumped onto the top of a truck.   
  
Sirens filled the air. They entered Matt's brain, ice picks sliding through flesh and bone. He wanted to scream, but instead he heard paramedics and acted.   
  
"There," he yelled, jumping down from the truck and leading them towards Frank. He knew that they would be able to tell he was a slave by the collar he'd been forced to wear on their family outing, but it didn't matter. "My master. Get him."   
  
Then, he fled. The smell of blood and splattered bone fragment was enough to make him gag. Matt, however, forced himself to focus in, turn off his overwhelming senses.   
  
Frank had been shot in the head, yes, but he was still breathing and his heart was still beating. With those things came home.   
  
The paramedics went to work and Matt hid, trying to put his faith in God.   
  
"Please," he prayed nearly soundlessly. "Please."   
  
He silently prayed to God, begging Him to let Frank survive. He was a young, healthy father of two children. He had two partners who loved him, who needed him. His family needed him.   
  
Something was wrong. Even more wrong than he'd realized.  
  
"Nab that slave," yelled a voice from afar. It sounded too far off, and it didn't sound like one of the gang members. "You need to get the slave."   
  
Matt was lucky that he was purely reactive at that point. He ran, jumped and hid. Listening, he heard Maria. She was in an ambulance with the babies.  
  
"My husband..."   
  
"He's in transit to the hospital, ma'am," said a gruff voice. "We don't know yet."   
  
"We were with Matthew...our...our slave..." she stammered. "Where is he?"   
  
"We haven't recovered anyone yet, ma'am," the man replied. "Please don't worry about a slave right now. You broke your wrist and your girl was grazed in the side. Her wound looks pretty superficial, but we need to get you both transported to the hospital. We'll update you."   
  
"Okay," Maria breathed. "Let's go. Our Matthew is like a bird..."   
  
Frankie wailed and Matt's heart ached. Then, he processed Maria's words. She'd said he was like a bird. It reminded him of a silly nursery rhyme Maria sang with the kids. Something about a bird flying home to stay out of danger... Maria had the same bad feeling that he did. Something was very wrong.   
  
Maria was telling him to leave and Matt trusted her instincts more than he trusted his own. He knew that he had to get out of there. It was vital.


	18. Chapter 18

Matt/Maria/Frank - Fear Itself

"Mommy, where's Daddy...and Papa too?" 

Lisa's whimpers broke Maria's heart, and she hugged her daughter close on the goods ide. The bullet wound had been clean, and had really just grazed the little girl. Lisa had a big bandage on her left shoulder and she complained of being sore and achy, but she was okay. She'd be okay, at least.

"They had to go away for a little while," she explained quietly. She leaned over and stroked Lisa's hair, trying to calm her. "It's not safe for them here yet. Don't worry, they'll come back." 

"Bad stuff happened," Maria heard Lisa whispered under her breath. "Bad stuff is all over." Frank saw the bad stuff too, even while he was far, far away.

Frank saw an endless desert landscape. It stretched out before him, miles and miles of pure nightmare. It was a nightmarish haze of bullets, pain and death. It was his whole life, and all he could really focus on were the bullets.

In his mind, there was only a blur of sand and bullets, and behind that blur was his family.

Words joined in with the blur.

"We're going to lose him, damn it." 

Was he dying? Frank wished that he could make himself more concerned with that little fact.

"Stop worrying about him," said a voice, from even further away. It was so far off. "Frank Castle is dying. He'll be dead in a matter of hours and he'll no longer be a factor in this." 

"The wife..." 

"She's focused on the kids, and our cams showed that the slave knocked her to the ground when the shots began. She's too panicked to notice anything." 

"What about the slave?" 

"Doesn't matter. It's a slave. They go missing and die all the time." 

No, Frank was not going to let go. He was not going to die, because he had to survive for his family." 

~~

"Matt!" Maria yelled, but her voice shrunk into a whisper before she could even finish speaking. "Matt...I..." 

Matt stood, in costume, at the foot of her hospital bed. He reached over and took her by the hand. 

"Quiet, okay?" he whispered. "Tell me about Frank, please. I've heard all of these whispers, but I can't make anything concrete out of them."

"The doctors all say that he should be dead," Maria whispered. Matt could hear the pain, the grief. "He was shot in the head, at a relatively close range, but he's alive. He won't let go."

"He's going to survive, Maria," Matt assured, using his free hand to reach up and touch her face. She leaned into it. "He's Frank. I can't stay right now, but I need you to do something for me." 

"What?" she asked, voice small.

"Lay low," Matt murmured. "Be quiet and go along with everything you're told by police, investigators. There were obviously gangs involved. This was mob warfare, but I suspect that there's more. I need to investigate..." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Something is being covered up here," he whispered. "I heard some detectives, and they were talking. I think...I think they'd prefer if someone with Frank's background died and stayed out of the equation. Something is being covered up." 

"You'll figure it out, won't you, Matt?" 

"Of course I will. Trust me."


	19. Chapter 19

**Maria - Hope**  
  
Maria stared at the check. She had never seen such a large number, at least not with a dollar sign attached. It was signed by her boss, Mr. Wilson Fisk.   
  
Mr. Fisk was evil. Maria knew that. When the world had gone to hell, Matt had been working at tying Fisk to every criminal activity in the Kitchen, pretty much. Still, this was unreal. Sure, it was just a good PR move on his part, but Maria was overwhelmed.   
  
"Mommy?" Lisa whimpered. She was only four, sitting in a hospital room with a minor gunshot wound, and she was traumatized. She looked at the check in her mother's hands. "What's that?"   
  
"Money," she said, too tired to lie. "Mommy's boss gave us some money to help us out."   
  
"That's not money," Lisa complained sleepily. "Money's green."   
  
"It's a check," Maria explained, voice heavy. "It can be traded for money."   
  
"That's silly," Lisa said, half paying attention to her own words. "Grown-ups make things silly."   
  
"Sometimes they do, my love."   
  
"I miss Papa and Daddy..." Lisa whined.  
  
"Me too," Maria said, turning slightly and pulling Lisa gently into her arms. She had to be careful with her daughter's injuries, but she just wanted to cuddle. "You'll have to be strong, though; we both do. They'll return to us." 


	20. Chapter 20

**Matt/Frank - Waking Up**  
  
Frank woke up screaming. He could not stop screaming.  
  
His skull pounded with each heartbeat that passed through his body and it hurt; oh god, it hurt more than he could consciously understand.  
  
"No!" he yelled, as hands surrounded him. They pushed and pulled, and seemed to have no real purpose other than to make the pain worse. His mouth couldn't form the words that he really wanted, so he just kept yelling the word 'no,' over and over.  
  
He could barely see the ones around him. Instead, he saw bullets flying around inside of his head. He knew Matt had been there. Matt had saved their family.  
  
He'd been shot in the head.  
  
That knowledge came in slowly, and with it, the pain was replaced by a rush of fear. Frank Castle had seen men shot. In fact, his mind wandered to a young man, Private Wilson, who had been shot and killed during his first tour of duty. It had been so far away but Frank had seen him go down with a bullet in the back of his skull. He'd gone down and never got back up.  
  
Frank had gone down the same way, but as a civilian.   
  
He was alive. He had to remind himself of that. He was alive, while the young private was not. He had to cling to the life he'd been offered.   
  
When Matt found out that the shooting was part of a police sting gone wrong, his blood boiled. It had only taken the man known as Daredevil a short time to piece two and two together. It had led him to District Attorney Samatha Reyes.  
  
Daredevil appeared in her apartment in the dead of night and she was still awake.  
  
"You were involved in the Central Park massacre."   
  
She turned and looked at him with a fire in her eyes. It wasn't that she was used to having masked men break into her home, but the woman was strong, resilient.   
  
"You'd be hard pressed to prove that one," she stated evenly, heartrate immediately dropping back to normal once she faced him. "Who are you, exactly?"  
  
"You know who I am."  
  
"Correction," she began, "I know that a masked man roams this city and that they call him Daredevil. I do not, however, know who you are."   
  
"A family was caught in the crossfire of your sting gone wrong," Matt said, tossing down his damning evidence. "I have a copy of this tape. In it, your subordinates discuss the benefits of a man dying from a gunshot wound to the head. Well, guess what? That man woke up today. Sheer force of will, really."  
  
Her heartbeat soared.  
  
"This is a blackmail attempt, yes?" she asked. "Get to the blackmail."  
  
So, Matt did. He listed his demands. The county would pay for Frank's medical bills, leave the family alone and admit the part they'd played in the masscre that had nearly ended in innocent lives lost. Then, he added another demand.  
  
"I also want paperwork freeing the Castle family's slave."   
  
The gunfire had awakened Matt to the future and he needed to be free to best serve his family.  
  
"Oh..."   
  
"Yes?"  
  
"That can be arranged."


	21. Chapter 21

**Lisa - Okay  
**  
Lisa was only a small child, so as she watched her mommy and both of her daddies cry over a piece of paper, she was confused. She watched her papa hold it in his hands. He turned it around like he didn't think it was real. He then handed it over to her mommy.  
  
"This is for real, right?" asked Mommy, tears falling down her face. Lisa wanted to ask why Mommy was crying, but she was watching them from the bathroom next to their hospital room. She wasn't sure if they knew she was there and she didn't want to get in trouble. "Matt, this is what I think it is, right? How?"   
  
"I made it happen," Papa replied calmly. He smiled at Lisa and Lisa had a strange feeling he knew she was listening. He heard things other people didn't. "I'm free now, Maria."   
  
Daddy was still in the hospital bed. Lisa wasn't sure how long it was going to take for him to get better, but Mommy said he'd have some problems for a little while. Lisa hoped it was soon. He was awake, but his eyes looked funny, like he wasn't looking at anything.  
  
"You're not a slave..." he said, in a voice that was funny, and kind of hard to understand. "Matty..."   
  
"Nope," Papa said proudly. "I'm not a slave, your bills are paid, and we'll be okay."  
  
"We've also got ourselves quite a good savings thanks to Fisk," Mommy said quietly. "That feels weird to say since he's evil and all..."   
  
"Don't worry about Fisk right now," assured Papa. "I love you guys, so much."  
  
Just then, from the crib the nurse had brought into the room, Frankie started whining. Lisa took that as her cue to run into the room.  
  
"Frankie's awake!" she yelled, deciding that was the best excuse she had to come in. "I was going potty and I heard Frankie."   
  
"That you did," said Papa, grinning. He helped Frankie out of the crib and put him on Daddy's bed. Frankie crawled up and Daddy pat the top of his head. "Are you okay, Lisa?"  
  
"Yep, I'm okay!" she promised. "Are you...okay?"  
  
Papa picked her up and pulled her into a hug.   
  
"We're all okay, sweetie."


End file.
